Dubstation 2 vs Branches
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Dubstation 2
This app brings a classic dub delay effect to your mobile device. It offers true stereo operation, tempo synchronization, and extensive feedback control for creating rich, saturated delays. Explore various modes and LFO effects for chorus and tape sounds.
- Tempo-synchronized or millisecond timing
- True stereo dual/single/ping-pong modes
- EQ and saturation on feedback
- LFO for chorus and tape effects
- Tempo-synced stereo looping
- Low CPU usage
- Factory and user presets
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Dubstation has been a fixture in dub, electronic, and pop production for nearly twenty years. It emulates the analog bucket-brigade delays of the 1970s and 80s, with their pitch-bending, warmth, and gradual high-frequency loss intact, then adds things those circuits could never do: true stereo dual-time delays, ping-pong, a stereo LFO, and a clean digital looper with overdub and reverse. Sound and Character The bucket-brigade model is the real thing: the high-cut frequency tightens as delay time gets longer, exactly like the original hardware. A low-cut filter trims the bass for the thin echoes of early Jamaican dub. A saturation stage on the feedback path adds analog-style breakup as repeats stack up, and the LFO modulates delay time for chorus, flange, and pitch swoops. Looper and Reverse The LOOP switch turns Dubstation into a clean digital looper that holds the buffer indefinitely and accepts overdubs. This is different from cranking the feedback, which degrades and distorts the signal over time. The REVERSE switch flips the delay memory backwards, and combined with the looper produces reverse loops that hold their fidelity indefinitely. Features >> Single, dual-time, and ping-pong modes >> Tempo-synced or millisecond timing, with dotted and triplet values >> 4 ms to 2 second delay range with X2 switch >> Bucket-brigade modeling with delay-dependent high-cut filter >> Low-cut filter from 100 Hz to 1.5 kHz >> LFO modulation of delay time, 0.01 to 5 Hz >> Saturation on the feedback path >> Tempo-synced stereo looper with sound-on-sound and reverse >> Stereo width control >> Factory and user presets, shareable with the desktop version via XML >> Optimized for low CPU usage on older devices >> Full manual at audiodamage.com
Branches
This semi-modular synthesizer offers a "west coast" style of sound design, inspired by classic synthesizers. It functions as a standalone app with MIDI input or as an AUv3 plugin within a DAW, allowing for complex sound creation and experimentation.
- Semi-modular synthesis engine
- Standalone app and AUv3 plugin support
- West coast style sound processing
- Duophonic synthesis with dual MIDI channels
- Generative melody capabilities
- Waveform fading and wave folding
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Branches is a semi-modular synthesizer inspired by classics of the past. It runs both as a standalone instrument with support for external MIDI input or as a plugin (AUv3) in your favorite DAW app. Audio from the oscillators are permanently hardwired into the lowpass gates and the default patch is setup to receive MIDI and trigger the lowpass gate for the complex oscillator. This way you can get up and running fast and are then free to experiment with your own patching. Branches is utilizing what is sometimes referred to as a "west coast" style of processing which in this case means timbre is adjusted by adding harmonics to a basic sine wave. One of the oscillators does this by fading between multiple waveforms freely, the other does it by employing a wave folder and blending it with another user selectable waveform. The first one can also modulate either frequency or amplitude of the second. Branches support MIDI input on two channels. This allows you to control each oscillator and low pass gate individually if you please, acting as a duophonic synthesizer. Utilizing the rest of the modules opens up a world of different possibilities - generative random melodies, timbre changing over time, modulation from your host app etc.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Branches at every 6 days against Dubstation 2's every 13 months. Dubstation 2's advantage is rating (4.3 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (54% vs 36%). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Dubstation 2 costs $3.99 and Branches $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Dubstation 2 holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 33 and 12 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Dubstation 2's written reviews are positive against 36% of Branches's.
Dubstation 2 ships an update every 13 months, Branches every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dubstation 2 | Branches |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (33 ratings) — better | 3.9 (12 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 54.2% of reviews — better | 36.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 33 — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #185 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 26 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Audio Damage, Inc. | Willow & Oak AB |
Customer experience
Dubstation 2
Branches
In-app purchases
Dubstation 2
No in-app purchases
Branches
No in-app purchases









